Need an idea for your secret pal's next gift? Here you go!

In addition to this Secret Santa blog, I also run ChellyWood.com, which offers free, printable sewing patterns for doll clothes and doll accessories. This year, for the holidays, ChellyWood.com is offering this free pattern for a miniature Christmas stocking. So I thought, “Hey! I should share this with my Secret Santa followers too!”

This sewing tutorial shows you exactly how to make the little holiday stockings. Even if you don’t sew, this is an easy project to make. You could probably even use felt and hot glue. (But my tutorial shows you how to make them with a needle and thread.)

If you’re worried I’m stealing these patterns from some other website, please don’t… ChellyWood.com is another one of my websites, but it’s dedicated to sewing rather than secret pals and secret Santas.

Searching for something fun to give your secret pal or office buddy? Have you noticed all the nifty styles that a bluetooth mouse comes in these days?

I’m not affiliated with the Logitech company, but I do own (and love) a Logitech mouse. Mine was relatively inexpensive (under $20) and it works great! I also get lots of compliments on it because it’s such a fun style.

Please note that although my posts only happen once a month most of the year, these “gift idea” posts occur weekly during the holidays, when it’s “Secret Santa” season, so it’s a good idea to bookmark this website for later reference.

It’s pretty straightforward. A kite is a super-fun item to play around with on the beach, down at the lake, or even in your own backyard.

You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy playing with a kite. Unwrapping one from its packaging brings out the inner child in all of us!

So consider giving your Secret Pal a kite for his/her July or August gift. They’re available at Walgreens, Walmart, and many toy stores.

Please note that although my posts only happen once a month most of the year, these posts occur weekly during the holidays, when it’s “Secret Santa” season, so it’s a good idea to bookmark this website for later reference.

For my 4th of July Secret Pal gift idea, I’d like to suggest putting together all the fixin’s for your secret pal to make himself/herself some home-made lemonade. Search for a recipe online and print it out. Also place the following goodies in one of those summer jars you see on sale at every store in town:

A dozen fresh lemons

A bag of C&H pure cane sugar

A wooden spoon

A juice squeezer

Tie a big yellow ribbon around the jar, and you’ve got a 4th of July gift for your Secret Pal!

Home-made bread is the all-time best secret pal gift idea for a man. What man doesn’t love a loaf of home-baked bread?

Okay, granted some men may be diabetic and/or on a low-carb diet. Do a little homework to make sure that isn’t the case before you place that yummy-smelling home-made bread on his desk in his cubicle. If you find that’s the case, maybe go with a Hickory Farms cheese sampler or something like that.

However most men really love a loaf of home-made bread.

If you’re not a confident baker, just go to the frozen foods aisle at your grocery store and buy the frozen loaf of ready-to-rise bread. Allow it to thaw and rise before baking it, following all the directions on the package. Show up at work the next day with that yummy, fresh-smelling bread under one arm and a from-your-secret-pal gift card in your hand.

Please note that although my posts only happen once a month most of the year, these posts occur weekly during the holidays, when it’s “Secret Santa” season, so it’s a good idea to bookmark this website for later reference.

Next week I’ll post the tutorial showing you how to make this easy, no-sew holiday ornament. The blue and white one makes a great ornament for friends or family members who celebrate Hanukkah.

My brother-in-law is Jewish, so my sister’s family has a tree but also a Menorah. I put together the blue ornament as a holiday gift for us to give my brother-in-law when we all get together for the holidays. It honors his Jewish heritage with the blue and white colors of the flag of Israel (which are also the colors commonly associated with Hanukkah), but it can also hang from their family’s Christmas tree, honoring the religious beliefs of both sides of the family.

Unfortunately the star at the center of the quilted holiday ornament is not a true “Star of David,” like one finds in the center of the flag of Israel. So don’t be confused by that. The Star of David has only six points; whereas these ornaments’ stars have eight points.

I suppose you could try to alter the pattern for a six-pointed star, but that might be tricky. If you’re going to try that route, please leave a comment, letting me know how you accomplished it and how the end result fared.

If you’re looking for a Christmas tree ornament, of course, you can’t go wrong with this nifty ornament in red, green, white, and/or gold. In a hurry to create your ornament? The video tutorial for making this holiday ornament will post earlier on ChellyWood.com and my YouTube channel than here. Navigate to those locations to make your ornament early.

This is my last post before Christmas, so you may want to see my Secret Santa reveal poem again before it’s all over. Just click that link to find the poem I’ve posted in years past.

Remember, it’s always friendly and kind to pin, like, or tweet about my creations. That helps spread the word that my websites exist. So if you enjoyed using my Secret Santa poems, projects, and patterns this year, please show your appreciation by pinning, liking, or tweeting about them. Thanks!